IN the Introduction
to this work, it is observed, that, " in surveying the philosophy of man,
as at present exhibited to us in the writings of philosophers, we perceive, first, That no account is given of the influence of the material organs
on the manifestations of the mental powers ; that the progress of the mind
from youth to age, and the phenomena of sleep, dreaming, idiocy, and insanity,
are left unexplained or unaccounted for ; secondly, That the existence
and functions of some of the most important primitive faculties are still
in dispute ; and, thirdly, That no light has been thrown on the nature
and effects of combinations of the primitive powers in different degrees of
relative proportion. It is, with great truth, therefore, that Monsieur De
Bonald, quoted

VOL. II. Dd

418 CONCLUSION.

by Mr Stewart, observes,
that " diversity of doctrine has increased from age to age, with the number
of masters, and with the progress of knowledge ; and Europe, which at present
possesses libraries filled with philosophical works, and which reckons up
almost as many philosophers as writers ; poor in the midst of so much riches,
and uncertain, with the aid of all its guides, which road it should follow
; Europe, the centre and focus of all the lights of the world, has yet its philosophy only in expectation."

May I hope that Phrenology
will appear to the attentive reader calculated to supply the deficiency here
pointed out, and to furnish Europe, at last, with the Philosophy so long in
expectation ?

Hitherto the writings
of Dr Gall have been little known to the British public, except through the
medium of hostile reviews ; and the most unmeasured ridicule and abuse have
been poured out against them, as if they were a disgrace to the century in
which they were produced : His fellow-labourer Dr Spurzheim has sustained
an equal share of this unmerited storm. In preparing the present volume for
the press, I have drawn largely from the works of both of these authors ;
in many instances I have compared their statements of fact with nature, sifted
their arguments, and weighed deliberately their conclusions ; and I now feel
it an imperative duty to state, that the present generation has, in my humble
judgment, re-acted, in their cases, the scenes which have attached so deep
a stigma to the ages of Galileo and Harvey. The discoveries of the revolution
of the globe, and the circulation of the blood, were splendid displays of
genius, interesting and beneficial to mankind ; but their results, compared
with the consequences which must inevitably follow from Dr Gall's discovery
of the functions of the brain (embracing, as it does, the true theory of the
animal, moral, and intellectual constitution of man), sink into relative insignificance.
Looking forward to the time when the real nature and ultimate effects of Dr
Gall's discovery shall be fully recognised. I cannot entertain a doubt that
posterity will

CONCLUSION. 41

manifest as eager
a desire to render honour to his memory, as his contemporaries have shewn
to treat himself with indignity and contempt. If the present work shall tend
in any degree to rouse the public attention to his merits, and to excite the
philosophers of England to do him justice ere he die, it will accomplish one
great end of its publication. Let them at last lay aside the prejudice which
has so long kept them back from looking with their own eyes into his works,
and from appealing, with the lights which he affords, to Nature, as the standard
by which to try the merits of his pretensions. If they will examine, they
will find that a fortunate thought opened up to him a vast region of discovery,
and that he has displayed gigantic powers in prosecuting it to its results
; that, instead of being an ignorant pretender to knowledge, he is a man of
profound and solid erudition ; that, so far from being a reckless theorist,
he is the most stubborn adherent to fact that has perhaps ever appeared in
the annals of mental philosophy ; and that, instead of being characterized
by a weak understanding and bewildered imagination, he manifests an intellect
at once profound, regulated, and comprehensive.

Dr Spurzheim's works
and lectures have rendered him better known in this country, and the force
of truth has for some years been operating in his favour. No reviewer would
now reckon it creditable, to use the terms so unceremoniously applied to him
in 1815 ; but a great debt of respect and gratitude remains to be paid by
Britain and the world to Dr Spurzheim. The great discovery of Phrenology,
and the announcement of many of its applications, unquestionably belong to
Dr Gall ; but to Dr Spurzheim is due the praise of early appreciating its
importance, and of fearlessly dedicating his life to the enlargement of its
boundaries and the dissemination of its principles, at a time when neither
honour nor emolument, but on the contrary obloquy and censure, were bestowed
on its adherents. In admiring the science as it now appears, it becomes us
to recollect also, that we owe much of its excellence and interest to this
gifted individual. He has

420 conclusion.

enriched it with
valuable anatomical discoveries, ascertained the functions of several highly
important organs, shed over it the lights of a refined and analytic philosophy,
and pointed out important fields of its application. With profound gratitude
and respect, therefore, I acknowledge myself indebted to him for the greatest
gift which it was possible for one individual to confer on another,-a knowledge
of the true Philosophy of Man.

To the Reverend David
Welsh, Mr W. Scott, Mr Simpson, Mr Lyon, and Dr Andrew Combe, fellow-labourers
with me in Phrenology, I owe many obligations. In availing myself freely of
the lights which they have struck out, it has been my constant wish to acknowledge
the source of my information ; but if amidst the habitual interchange of ideas
with which they have honoured me, their views have, in any instance, been
amalgamated with my own thoughts, and their authors forgotten, I solicit their
forgiveness, assuring them that inadvertency alone has been the cause of any
such mistakes.

EDINBURGH, October 1825.

POSTSCRIPT TO
THE THIRD EDITION.

SINCE the foregoing observations were written, Dr Gall has been numbered with the
dead. Like many other benefactors of mankind, he has died without his merits
being acknowledged, or rewarded, by the " great in literature and science"
of his own age ; but he possessed the consciousness of having presented to
the world one of the most valuable discoveries that ever graced the annals
of philosophy, and enjoyed the delight of having opened up to mankind a career
of improvement, physical, moral, and intellectual, to which the boldest imagination
can at present prescribe no limits.

CONCLUSION. 421

This appears to be
the reward which Providence assigns to men eminently gifted with intellectual
superiority ; and we may presume that it is wisely suited to their nature.
A great duty remains for posterity to perform to the memory of Dr Gall, and
I cannot entertain a doubt that in due time it will be amply discharged.

It gives me the greatest
satisfaction to renew, after five years' additional experience, the acknowledgment
of my highest gratitude and esteem for Dr Spurzheim ; and to express my earnest
wish that Britain may, by suitable encouragement, retain him permanently to
herself.

EDINBURGH, October 1830.

POSTSCRIPT TO
THE FOURTH EDITION.

it is painful in
no ordinary degree now to speak of Dr Spurzheim in the past tense ; but since
the third edition of this work was printed, he too has been called away. He
died at Boston, U. S. on the 10th of November 1832, while zealously engaged
in communicating the invaluable truths of Phrenology to a people in every
respect worthy of the doctrine, and of the man who came among them to teach
it. The citizens of Boston, and of the United States generally, justly appreciated
the talents and moral worth of this excellent philosopher. They honoured him
while alive, gave him a public funeral, and erected a beautifully appropriate
monument to his memory in Auburn Cemetery. In ex* pressing my heartfelt sorrow
for his loss, I render a sincere tribute of respect and gratitude to them
for the kindness with which they received him, and the honour with which they
enshrined his mortal remains.

EDINBURGH,
31st October 1836,

422 CONCLUSION.

POSTSCRIPT TO
THE FIFTH EDITION.

SINCE the 31st October
1836, I have visited Germany, and the United States of North America, and
have endeavoured to multiply my observations, and also to correct the views,
and to enlarge the number of facts, published in the former editions of this
work. It remains with the reader to judge how far I have been successful.